Sen. Javier L. Cervantes

Filed: 4/26/2023

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1378

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1378 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. This Act may be referred to as the Illinois
5Graduate and Retain Our Workforce (iGROW) Tech Law.
 
6    Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
7Section 5.990 as follows:
 
8    (30 ILCS 105/5.990 new)
9    Sec. 5.990. The Illinois Graduate and Retain Our Workforce
10(iGROW) Tech Scholarship Fund.
 
11    Section 10. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
12amended by adding Section 65.120 as follows:
 
13    (110 ILCS 947/65.120 new)

 

 

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1    Sec. 65.120. IGROW Tech Scholarship Program.
2    (a) As used in this Section:
3    "Eligible applicant" means a student who has graduated
4from high school or has received a State of Illinois High
5School Diploma, who has maintained a cumulative grade point
6average of no less than 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, who is pursuing or
7intends to pursue a qualifying degree in a qualified
8institution, and who is entitled to apply for assistance under
9this Section.
10    "Full-time" means the number of credit hours the
11Commission determines is full-time enrollment for a student
12for purposes of the program created under this Section.
13    "Minority student" has the same meaning as the term is
14defined under Section 50 of the Higher Education Student
15Assistance Act (110 ILCS 947).
16    "Program" means the iGROW Tech Scholarship Program created
17under this Section.
18    "Qualifying degree" means an associate or a bachelor's
19degree granted by a qualified institution in the field of
20computer information sciences; information technology;
21information science; computer science; computer systems
22networking and telecommunications; computer and information
23systems security or information assurance, including
24cybersecurity; or management information systems.
25    "Qualifying job" means a job with an employer in this
26State performing work that is directly related to the field of

 

 

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1study that qualified the candidate for assistance under this
2Section.
3    "Qualified student" means a person (i) who is a resident
4of this State; (ii) who, as an eligible applicant, has made a
5timely application for an iGROW tech scholarship under this
6Section; (iii) who is enrolled on at least a half-time basis at
7a qualified institution; (iv) who is enrolled in a course of
8study in the field of computer and information sciences;
9information technology; information science; computer science;
10computer systems networking and telecommunications; computer
11and information systems security or information assurance,
12including cybersecurity; or management information systems;
13(v) who maintains a grade point average of no less than a 2.5
14on a 4.0 scale; and (vi) who continues to advance
15satisfactorily toward the attainment of a degree.
16    "Recipient" means an Illinois resident enrolled in a
17qualified institution who receives an award under this
18Section.
19    (b) Subject to appropriation, and no sooner than the
202024-2025 academic year, there is established the Illinois
21Graduate and Retain Our Workforce (iGROW) Tech Scholarship
22Program to recruit and train individuals to work in technology
23jobs that have a high demand for new employees and offer high
24wages by awarding scholarships.
25    (c) Each iGROW tech scholarship awarded under this Section
26shall be determined by the Commission in an amount up to and

 

 

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1including the full costs of tuition and fees and room and board
2of the qualified institution at which the recipient is
3enrolled if the institution is public, or an equivalent rate
4established by the Commission for private institutions. The
5total amount of iGROW tech scholarship assistance awarded by
6the Commission under this Section to an eligible applicant in
7any given fiscal year, when added to other financial
8assistance awarded to that individual for that year, shall not
9exceed the cost of attendance at the institution at which the
10student is enrolled. If the amount of financial assistance to
11be awarded to a qualified student exceeds the cost of
12attendance at the institution at which the student is
13enrolled, the iGROW tech scholarship shall be reduced by an
14amount equal to the amount by which the combined financial
15assistance available to the student exceeds the cost of
16attendance.
17    (d) The maximum number of academic terms for which a
18qualified student can receive iGROW tech scholarship
19assistance shall be 8 semesters or 12 quarters.
20    (e) All applications for scholarships awarded under this
21Section shall be made to the Commission on forms which the
22Commission shall provide for eligible applicants. The form of
23applications and the information required to be set forth
24therein shall be determined by the Commission, and the
25Commission shall require eligible applicants to submit with
26their applications such supporting documents or

 

 

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1recommendations as the Commission deems necessary.
2    (f) Subject to appropriation for such purposes, payment of
3any iGROW tech scholarship awarded under this Section shall be
4determined by the Commission. All scholarship funds
5distributed in accordance with this subsection shall be paid
6to the qualified institution and used only for payment of the
7tuition and fees assessed by the institution and the standard
8housing and food allowance used for all undergraduate students
9by the qualified student in connection with his or her
10attendance at a qualified institution.
11    Any iGROW tech scholarship awarded under this Section
12shall be applicable to 2 semesters or 3 quarters of enrollment
13annually. The qualified institution can only request payment
14for tuition and fees up to the amount of actual tuition and fee
15expenses incurred.
16    If a student withdraws after the expiration of the tuition
17refund or withdrawal adjustment period, the student may
18receive payment for tuition and fees incurred up to the term
19award. The housing and food allowance shall be prorated based
20on the qualified institution's return of funds policy.
21    (g) Prior to receiving scholarship assistance for any
22academic year, each recipient of an iGROW tech scholarship
23awarded under this Section shall be required by the Commission
24to sign an agreement under which the recipient pledges that
25the recipient (i) shall work in the State in a qualified job
26for a period of not less than one year for each year of

 

 

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1scholarship assistance he or she was awarded under this
2Section; however, in no event shall he or she agree to work in
3the State in a qualified job for a period of less than 2 years;
4and (ii) shall, upon request by the Commission, provide the
5Commission with evidence that he or she is fulfilling or has
6fulfilled the terms of the agreement provided for in this
7subsection.
8    If a recipient of an iGROW tech scholarship awarded under
9this Section fails to fulfill the obligations set forth in
10this subsection, the Commission shall require the recipient to
11repay the amount of the scholarships received, prorated
12according to the fraction of the employment obligation not
13completed, at a rate of interest equal to 5%, and, if
14applicable, reasonable collection fees. The Commission is
15authorized to establish rules relating to its collection
16activities for repayment of scholarships under this Section.
17All repayments collected under this Section shall be forwarded
18to the State Comptroller for deposit into the State's General
19Revenue Fund.
20    A recipient of an iGROW tech scholarship shall not be
21considered in violation of the agreement entered into pursuant
22to this subsection if the recipient (I) enrolls on a full-time
23basis as a graduate student in a course of study related to the
24technology degree for which he or she qualified for the iGROW
25tech scholarship at a qualified institution; (II) is serving,
26not in excess of 3 years, as a member of the armed services of

 

 

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1the United States; (III) is a person with a temporary total
2disability for a period of time not to exceed 3 years as
3established by sworn affidavit of a qualified physician; (IV)
4is seeking and unable to find full-time employment with a
5State employer that satisfies the criteria set forth in this
6subsection and is able to provide evidence of that fact; (V)
7becomes a person with a permanent total disability as
8established by sworn affidavit of a qualified physician; or
9(VI) meets any other criteria that the Commission may deem
10necessary.
11    (h) Scholarship recipients under this Section who withdraw
12from a program of computer science or other related major area
13of study provided under this Section but remain enrolled in
14school to continue their postsecondary studies in another
15academic discipline shall not be required to commence
16repayment of their iGROW tech scholarship so long as they
17remain enrolled in school on a full-time basis or if they can
18document for the Commission special circumstances that warrant
19extension of repayment.
20    (i) If the Program does not expend at least 90% of the
21amount appropriated for the Program in a given fiscal year for
223 consecutive fiscal years on or before January 1 in each of
23those fiscal years, then up to 3% of amount appropriated for
24the Program for each of next 3 fiscal years shall be allocated
25to increasing awareness of the program.
26    (j) The Commission shall administer the Program and shall

 

 

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1make all necessary and proper rules not inconsistent with this
2Section for its effective implementation.
3    (k) The Commission shall establish a methodology for
4prioritizing applications from applicants who demonstrate a
5financial need or hardship, applications from minority
6students, and applications from applicants demonstrating
7academic excellence. After the first academic year that the
8Program operates, the Commission shall prioritize the
9applications of those applicants who received a scholarship
10under this Section during the prior academic year and who
11remain eligible for a scholarship under this Section.
12    (l) Each fiscal year, the Commission may use up to 5% of
13money appropriated for the Program for administration.
14    (m) Scholarships may be made under this Section through
15the 2029-30 academic year.
16    (n) The Illinois Graduate and Retain Our Workforce (iGROW)
17Tech Scholarship Fund is created as a special fund in the State
18treasury. Moneys in the fund may come from both public
19entities and institutional, organizational, or other private
20entities. All money in the Fund shall be used, subject to
21appropriation, by the Commission to implement and administer
22the Program pursuant to this Section.
 
23    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
241, 2024.".